Late Night Retro Television Review: Hunter 1.19 “Sniper”

Posted on September 3, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Thursdays, I will be reviewing Hunter, which aired on NBC from 1984 to 1991. The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi and several other services!

This week, the first season of Hunter comes to a close.

Episode 1.19 “Sniper”

(Dir by James Whitmore, Jr., originally aired on May 18th, 1985)

Someone is using a sniper rifle to target blonde women who visit a national park. Hunter suspects that the sniper might have Army training, and he focuses his investigation on a nearby military base. Hunter’s instincts are correct. Early on, we’re shown that the sniper is Sgt. Dennis Balzer (Jack Starrett, the actor/director who also played the abusive cop who fell out of the helicopter in First Blood). Years ago, Balzer’s heart was broken by a blonde woman, and now he’s seeking revenge by killing every blonde he sees. It’s always odd to me how Hunter, a show about a detective, never seemed to try to generate any suspense as to who was going to turn out to be guilty. Instead, we usually learn the killer’s identity before Hunter does.

Meanwhile, Hunter also has to deal with something even scarier than a sniper: he’s being audited by the IRS. James Cromwell appears as the IRS agent, who eventually ends up auditing the entire department.

Since its very first episode, Hunter has been a violent show. Both Hunter and McCall have been portrayed as shoot-first, ask-questions-later types of cops, though Hunter does seem to be a much better shot than McCall. This episode was even more violent than usual, and the mix of innocent people getting shot in the head with comedic scenes about tax evasion sometimes felt a bit awkward. That said, who doesn’t hate the IRS? (Anyone who enjoys paying taxes is a commie sap.) I was glad to see that Hunter had the same attitude.

This episode brings the first season of Hunter to a close. Looking over the first season, it can be argued that more than a few of the episodes featured stories that felt a bit generic. The idea of Hunter being the son of a mobster was abandoned early on. And while the violence was undoubtedly part of the show’s appeal, it still feels strange that Hunter can kill so many people every week without getting into any trouble over it. What made this season work was the chemistry between Fred Dryer and Stepfanie Kramer. Fred Dryer may not have been the greatest actor in the world, but he had an engaging smile, he could deliver a one-liner, and the showrunners obviously understood that the sight of the very tall Dryer crammed into a broken-down car would more than make up for what he may have lacked in range. As for Stepfanie Kramer, the first season showed that she could hold her own in the action scenes, and her banter with Dryer was usually the highlight of each episode. That was certainly the case here.

Next week, we start the second season!

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 8/23/26 — 8/29/26

Posted on August 29, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I spent this week binging Crime Story, St. Elsewhere, and Baywatch. My goal here is to write up three months worth of Retro Television Reviews over the next week so that I can devote all of September and October to horrorthon.

I also watched Big Brother 28. Thursday was the 1,000th episode of Big Brother. Since I’ve see every episode, I did the math and discovered that I have spent the equivalent of 43 days just watching Big Brother. That left me feeling very depressed.

On Friday, my friend Pat McCurry put together a tribute for Tim Curry and Dolly Parton. First, we watched a thoroughly forgettable 2000 sitcom called Bette. As you can guess from the title, it starred Bette Midler as herself. The episode that we watched featured Bette appearing on Dolly Parton’s Halloween special. Dolly was charming. The rest of the sitcom was pretty forgettable. We followed this with an episode of a 90s crime show called Wiseguy. Tim Curry played a crooked music producer. The show was serialized so I really couldn’t follow the plot but Curry gave a typically magnetic preformance.

Along with my binging, I also watched and reviewed CHiPs, Pacific Blue, 1st & Ten, Hunter, Sledge Hammer, and Saved By The Bell.

And I also watched a Republican Presidential Primary Debate from 1996! It was on YouTube. I liked that Lamar Alexander. Did he win?

Late Night Retro Television Review: Hunter 1.18 “Fire Man”

Posted on August 27, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, things are getting hot!

Episode 1.18: “Fire Man”

(Dir Tony Mordente, originally aired May 11th, 1985)

Somebody in Los Angeles has got a military-grade flamethrower and is using it to set fires all over the city.

When a homeless man perishes in a burning warehouse, Hunter and McCall get involved. Their first suspect is a nervous man named Jack Lachman (William Russ, giving a better performance than the material probably deserved), who always seems to show up in the crowds that gather to watch the flames. Jack swears he’s innocent and that the arsonist is instead a former Special Forces operative with whom he served in Vietnam. Jack also claims that the arsons are connected to a war crime that Jack and his fellow soldiers covered up.

Also getting involved is Matt Gold (Mark Schneider), a reporter determined to get the story and unconcerned about whether he messes up the investigation in the process. At first, McCall thinks Matt is harmless. Hunter does not. Not surprisingly, Hunter turns out to be right: the media gets in the way of solving and preventing crimes.

This episode was all about visual style. The plot wasn’t terribly complicated, but the shots of the arsonist setting his fires were disturbing, as were the images of the flames quickly consuming anything they touched. The scene in which the arsonist takes out a witness was disturbingly violent, even by Hunter’s standards. At the same time, the song that seemed to play whenever the arsonist appeared quickly got old.

As violent as the episode got, there was something reassuring about Hunter and McCall once again stopping the bad guy and saving the city—and doing it while trading quips. It’s a scary world out there, this episode seemed to be saying, but luckily we’ve got Hunter and McCall to take out the trash.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 6/16/26 — 6/22/26

Posted on August 22, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Big Brother 28 (24/7, CBS, Paramout+, and Pluto TV)

I’ve been writing about the show that I love to hate over at Reality TV Chat Blog.

Election Coverage (Tuesday Night)

Last week was the last big primary night of 2026. I mostly watched the results from Florida. The defeat of Alex Vindman in Florida should be all the proof that one needs that the Resistance era is over.

Darke of the Night (YouTube)

My review of this unsold pilot will drop in September.

Homicide: Life On The Street (Peacock TV)

I binged several episodes of Homicide this week and wrote and scheduled reviews of each one.

Juvenile Court (YouTube)

My review of this unsold pilot will drop next week.

Law & Order (Hulu)

I watched an episode of Law & Order that served as a crossover with Homicide. My review of both episodes will drop at some point in September.

Radio 1990 (Nightflight Plus)

I watched an episode of this 80s music video show on Friday night.

Saved By The Bell (Prime)

This week’s review will drop shortly.

Sylvan in Paradise (YouTube)

My review of this pilot will drop in September.

Warden Duffy of San Quentin (YouTube)

My review of this pilot will drop in September.

Watched and Reviewed:

Late Night Retro Television Review: Hunter 1.17 “The Last Kill”

Posted on August 20, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Hunter helps an ex-girlfriend.

Episode 1.17 “The Last Kill”

(Dir by Bruce Kessler, originally aired on April 20th, 1985)

Internationally famous model Christine Le Masters (Stephanie Blackmore) thinks that her husband, Kerry (Madison Mason), is cheating on her. Christine tells Kerry that she’s heading to the airport to catch a flight for Europe and a new ad campaign. Instead, she follows Kerry when he heads over to a cheap motel. Christine is expecting to catch her husband with his mistress. Instead, she finds a prostitute who has been shot in the back of the head by a hitman.

Not wanting her husband to know that she lied about leaving the country, Christine goes to an ex-boyfriend for help. The name of that ex-boyfriend? Rick Hunter.

Hunter and McCall do investigate and discover that the prostitute is just one of many low-level criminals who have apparently all been killed by the same assassin. Hunter uses his little-mentioned mob contacts to dig into the murders and finds out that there’s a hitman named George who has been killing everyone involved in a plot to blackmail a mob boss. However, George appears to be doing this out of the kindness of his heart. Hunter suspects that George is just trying to get close to the mob boss so that he can kill him. He also suspects that George is actually Kerry Le Masters!

Is Hunter just jealous that Kerry is married to his ex-girlfriend, or is he correct about Kerry being a killer? It turns out that both things can be true! Don’t worry, though. Even though Kerry is holding a gun at his wife’s head at the time, Hunter is still able to shoot him without hurting Christine. Hunter tells police dispatch to send “the coroner’s wagon.” The police dispatcher doesn’t sound surprised. Hunter kills an average of three people a day.

This episode never really made it clear why Kerry would decide to become a hitman in the first place. I mean, he’s already rich. But I did appreciate that the Hunter family’s mob ties were mentioned again and that we got to learn a little about his past. When Kerry told Hunter that the two of them were heading for a standoff that only one would survive, Hunter replied, “Works for me.” It was a cool moment on an otherwise standard episode of Hunter.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 8/9/26 — 8/15/26

Posted on August 15, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Austin City Limits (YouTube)

I watched an episode featuring Leonard Cohen. It was a bit too low-key for me but I did appreciate Cohen’s sense of style.

Big Brother (24/7, CBS, Paramount+, Pluto TV)

I’ve been writing about the show that I love to hate at the Reality Tv Chat Blog.

Election Coverage

The Wisconsin primary will go down in history. As much as I disagree with Frances Hong on the issues, I felt a bit sorry for her. There was a time when it was very trendy to claim to be mentally ill on social media. I think a lot of people are going to run into the same problem that she ran into when they try to run for office.

Kitchen Nightmares (Disney Plus)

I watched the two latest episodes. I am amazed that anyone would allow their business to appear on this show. Personally, I am never going to eat again.

Survivor 50 (Wednesday Night, CBS)

That 90-minute run time is going to be the death of Survivor. Every episode feels so dragged out now.

Top of the Pops (YouTube)

I watched two episodes from the 80s on Saturday morning It featured some of the least danceable music that I’ve ever heard.

Watched and Reviewed:

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Late Night Retro Television Review: Hunter 1.16 “Guilty”

Posted on August 13, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, it’s another violent couple of days in Los Angeles.

Episode 1.16 “Guilty”

(Dir by Michael Lange, originally aired on April 13th, 1985)

In 1979, Louis McMahon (Ken Foree) was convicted of murder and given a life sentence. Six years later, he’s been paroled and …. wait, really? He served six years for murder? What the Hell, California!?

Louis is free and working as a cook. When someone starts stalking and killing the jurors at his trial, Louis is the number one suspect. However, before the killer strikes, he always calls his victims and rasps, “Guilty.” Louis’s throat was slashed in prison and he’s now mute! Or is he? McCall suggests that Louis is faking being mute and …. well, yeah. That’s what he was doing alright.

This is the most simplistic episode of Hunter yet. McCall and Hunter figure out quickly that Louis is the murderer. All the other cops refuse to take Hunter and McCall seriously because of …. reasons, I guess? I mean, there really is no other suspect. Louis is the one person who has a reason to what to commit the murders. The only thing linking the victims is that they all voted to convict Louis. And yet, once again, Hunter and McCall find themselves being told not to bother the obvious murderer.

Of course, Hunter ends up shooting Louis. We haven’t finished the first season and I’ve already lost track of the amount of people that Hunter has shot. While I am as concerned as anyone is about trigger-happy cops, I do have to say that everyone that Hunter has shot had it coming. That’s especially true of Louis, who was an absolute monster. Ken Foree did a really good job playing him. Foree was so scary so that it kind of made up for the fact that this was one of the most predictable hours of television that I’ve ever watched.

Once again, Hunter and McCall save countless lives and they get no credit for it. Instead, they get sent to park to arrest muggers. As the episode ends, they actually catch one. I was surprised Hunter didn’t just shoot him.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 8/2/26 — 8/8/26

Posted on August 8, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

America 2100 (YouTube)

I reviewed America 2100 here,

Baywatch (Tubi)

You can read my review here!

Big Brother (24/7, CBS, Paramount+, Pluto TV)

You can read my ongoing review of Big Brother here.

Cheaters (Tubi)

Cheaters is on Tubi! I watched a few episodes on Saturday. This show is a guilty pleasure for me because 1) it was filmed in Dallas and 2) Joey Greco is just so judgmental!

CHiPs (Prime)

You can read my review of CHiPs here.

Crime Story (Tubi)

You can read my review of Crime Story here.

Diff’rent Strokes (Tubi)

After buying their father a birthday present, Arnold and Kimberly decided to hitchhike home. They were picked up by a man who locked Arnold in a room and then threatened to rape Kimberly. This was pretty disturbing for a sitcom! I watched this two-part episode on Thursday and I was relieved when the police finally showed up to rescue them.

Freddy’s Nightmares (Tubi)

I wrote about the series finale here!

Election Coverage (Tuesday Night)

I was pretty depressed going into this week’s primary elections but I have to admit that watching the results in Michigan cheered me up, Even though the latest DSA flavor-of-the month, Abdul El-Sayed, won his primary, it was only by one percentage point as opposed to the election being the blow-out that so many predicted. Not everyone is on board with extremism and I take some hope from that.

On Thursday, I watched as the election results rolled in from Tennessee. Other than that one congressman that lost his primary, the Tennessee results weren’t quite as exciting as the Michigan results. I did find myself amused as I remembered how, way back in 2018, some pundits were convinced that Taylor Swift coming out as a Democrat would somehow turn the state blue.

1st & Ten (Prime)

You can read my review here.

Flight of the Conchords (HBOMax)

I watched one episode from the first season (Todd joined the band and things quickly fell apart, despite his skill with the bongos) and one episode from the second season. (Bret and Jermaine met Murray’s best friend, Jim.) Both episodes made me laugh. This is definitely a show that I miss, even if it does seem like Bret and Jermaine probably did everything they could with the concept during the first two seasons.

Hunter (Tubi)

You can read my review here.

The Love Boat (Paramount Plus)

You can read my review here.

Mad TV (Tubi)

Mad TV’s on Tubi now! I watched two episodes on Thursday and, unfortunately, they were even worse than I remembered.

The Office (Peacock TV)

“THIS WAS THE BEST DUNDIES EVER! WHOOOOO!” As much as I complain about the show’s final two seasons, the first three seasons are about as good as anything that has ever aired on television. On Friday, I watched The Dundies.

Pacific Blue (Tubi)

You can read my review of Pacific Blue here.

Saved By The Bell (Prime)

My review will be dropping shortly.

Saved By The Bell: The New Class (Prime)

You can read my review here!

St. Elsewhere (YouTube)

You can read my review of St. Elsewhere here!

60 Minutes (CBS, Sunday Night)

I caught the last 30 minutes of 60 Minutes on Sunday night. It’s funny that, for all the acclaim that this show has received and all the current controversy surrounding it, the only time that I have ever watched it has been when I’ve been waiting for something else to start. It seems like I always end up turning on the show whenever Anderson Cooper is doing one of his “look at my exploring the wilderness!” type of stories.

Survivor 50 (CBS, Wednesday Night)

As I watched this week’s rerun of Survivor 50, it occurred to me that the all of the Survivor icons are starting to get really, really old. A better name for Survivor 50 would have been Survivor: Seniors’ Retreat.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Hunter 1.15 “The Beach Boy”

Posted on August 6, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, someone is killing criminals in Los Angeles and, for once, it’s not Rick Hunter!

Episode 1,15 “The Beach Boy”

(Dir by Richard Colla, originally aired on April 6th, 1985)

A Hawaiian drug lord is angered when five Los Angeles drug dealers decide to stop dealing his product. So, he sends his main assassin — Wes “Beach Boy” Kapano (Brett Clark) — to L.A. to kill all five of them. Hunter and McCall find themselves in the strange position of providing productive custody to the dealers while trying to stop Kapano.

This was a typical “chase-em-and-shoot-em” episode of Hunter. Dee Dee even managed to get shot for the second time this season. (And, once again, it didn’t seem to actually hurt her. “I’m fine!”) For the first season, at least, Hunter kept things simple. In between the flirtatious Hunter/McCall banter, there would be at least one car chase and three shootings.

What sets this episode apart is that Hunter and McCall are protecting drug dealers. While McCall makes it clear that she doesn’t actually care what happens to the dealers, Hunter’s feelings are a bit more ambivalent. He’s been chasing the dealers for so long that he’s developed a grudging affection for them. When one of them is killed while helping the police, Hunter’s actually upset about it.

The other thing that sets this episode apart was Brett Clark’s intimidating turn as the assassin. The Beach Boy, as he’s called, doesn’t waste too much time with conversations. He doesn’t brag about how clever he is or go to a lot of trouble trying to fool anyone. Instead, he just shows up and starts firing. He wears a bulletproof vest, as well. McCall shoots him twice and he barely flinches. He’s a scary dude!

That said, Hunter still manages to kill him. How many people have been killed by Rick Hunter so far? I’ve lost track. Most officers are suspended after a shooting so that the shooting board can rule whether or not it was justified. Hunter is always back on the streets within an hour of killing someone. Considering how quick he is with a gun, I probably wouldn’t want to tell him he was suspended either.

Much like Hunter and McCall, this episode was brutal and efficient.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 7/26/26 — 8/1/26

Posted on August 1, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Austin City Limits (PBS)

I watched an episode of this show on Saturday morning. My musical tastes pretty much start and end with EDM. Sorry, Austin.

Big Brother 28 (24/7, CBS, Paramout+, Pluto TV)

I’ve been sharing my thoughts on the show that I love to hate over at the RealityTVChat Blog. Feel free to leave a comment over there because, right now, the blog is not quite living up to the chat part of the name.

The Larry Sanders Show (HBOMax)

It’s a funny show and it helps to ease my anxiety. I’ve watched quite a few episodes this week.

Rogue’s Gallery (NightFlight+)

I watched an episode about John Dillinger on Friday. Now there was a handsome bank robber!

Saved By The Bell (Tubi)

Running Zack! I’ll be posting a review of this week’s episode in a bit.

Survivor 50 (CBS, Wednesday Night)

CBS has been re-airing Survivor 50 after episodes of Big Brother. I missed Survivor 50 when it first aired and I’m still struggling to get into it right now. I prefered Survivor when it was only an hour long. I have ADHD so asking me to concentrate for 90 minutes is a bit much.

Watched And Reviewed: